And it didn't replace a "shrine." Tourists didn't go to Milwaukee just to see County Stadium.

My point is that there are different fans out there in the huge metro area of Chicago, than just the tourists that currently visit a shrine now. A suburban location may be able to attract this currently untapped resource.

My point is that there are different fans out there in the huge metro area of Chicago, than just the tourists that currently visit a shrine now. A suburban location may be able to attract this currently untapped resource.

I just don't see it as an untapped resource. I would venture a guess that the Cubs attendance as it has been since 1984 is made up of a lot of suburbanites who come into the city for games, as well as a huge number of tourists who flock to Wrigley Field. There is no magical untapped suburban market out there; there is a good reason why pretty much every team who has built a new ballpark in the last 25 years has done so in a city center location.

I just don't see it as an untapped resource. I would venture a guess that the Cubs attendance as it has been since 1984 is made up of a lot of suburbanites who come into the city for games, as well as a huge number of tourists who flock to Wrigley Field. There is no magical untapped suburban market out there; there is a good reason why pretty much every team who has built a new ballpark in the last 25 years has done so in a city center location.

I still think there is that now hidden fan base. Suburbanites may come to see the cubs a few games a year but I can see these same people going to 10 games if it was in a suburb where you drive, park and get back home easy. Believe it or not, a lot of suburbanites dont like going in the city.

I still think there is that now hidden fan base. Suburbanites may come to see the cubs a few games a year but I can see these same people going to 10 games if it was in a suburb where you drive, park and get back home easy. Believe it or not, a lot of suburbanites dont like going in the city.

This particular location offers neither of the latter two. Getting there for weekday night games would be a nightmare as rush hour is awful on both the tollway and the Kennedy, let alone if there is any other event in Rosemont near there. And there is no room there to have enough parking.

Also, they still would be out all of the tourists who currently flock to Wrigley Field because it is Wrigley Field. I would venture a guess that the number of tourists to Wrigley Field could be as much as a million fans per season; as well as the number of young city dwellers who live near the park and like to party and socialize there.

This particular location offers neither of the latter two. Getting there for weekday night games would be a nightmare as rush hour is awful on both the tollway and the Kennedy, let alone if there is any other event in Rosemont near there. And there is no room there to have enough parking.

Also, they still would be out all of the tourists who currently flock to Wrigley Field because it is Wrigley Field. I would venture a guess that the number of that could be as much as a million fans per season.

Tollroad (294 and 90) is not really that bad till you hit the kennedy. Going out of the city is bad though. As I said before I dont know about the land available for parking.

The Blue Line from downtown to Rosemont takes anywhere from 45-60 minutes depending on where you board in the Loop and at what time (at 5:00pm you might have to wait a bit just to squeeze into a jam packed car, especially if you get on at Clark & Lake) . The slow zones of the past are pretty much gone.

This particular location offers neither of the latter two. Getting there for weekday night games would be a nightmare as rush hour is awful on both the tollway and the Kennedy, let alone if there is any other event in Rosemont near there. And there is no room there to have enough parking.

Also, they still would be out all of the tourists who currently flock to Wrigley Field because it is Wrigley Field. I would venture a guess that the number of tourists to Wrigley Field could be as much as a million fans per season; as well as the number of young city dwellers who live near the park and like to party and socialize there.

It's amazing people go to Sox games then since this can also be used to describe the experience of getting to a Sox game by car.

It would not be difficult to access that area by car. If a stadium was built there then there would most likely be construction done to provide easier access. But even now it's not that difficult to drive to that area. Parking is a concern, as well as the airport because there would be planes flying overhead all the time.

I don't think it's really that bad of a location. The blue line is right there so there could easily be shuttles set up to take people to and from the park. The casino is just down River Rd, the new outlet mall is opening soon, that whole area could become Wrigley North. It's not some barren wasteland that some of you city folk are making it out to be.

The only thing we all seem to agree on is that the Cubs might lose some attendance due to no longer having Wrigley Field to promote. Sure, they may lose some tourists but we all know a new stadium is always going to attract people. If they were to actually become competitive around the same time a new stadium is ready to open that impact will be felt for years. But the Ricketts need to decide what direction they want to go in with the club. Is Wrigley Field more important than the product on the field? Is Wrigley Field worth maintaining over the next 10, 20, 30 years? The Cubs are a brand name and losing Wrigley would definitely be a PR hit, but it's also something I think they can overcome.

From a management perspective? Yes. The Cubs lost 101 games last year and still drew 2.8 million fans. If Wrigley Field is removed from the equation, how many people do you think come to see them? From 1999 to 2002 the Cubs had three season where they lost at least 95 games and every year they drew AT LEAST 2.7 million people, except for 2002 when they drew 2.693 million.

I would think that an owner of the Cubs knows that it is in their best interest to do everything they can do to keep Wrigley Field standing for as long as possible. I also think that Rahm knows that as well and he also knows the Cubs have no real leverage here.

The Blue Line from downtown to Rosemont takes anywhere from 45-60 minutes depending on where you board in the Loop and at what time (at 5:00pm you might have to wait a bit just to squeeze into a jam packed car, especially if you get on at Clark & Lake) . The slow zones of the past are pretty much gone.

45-60 minutes is fast? Good god, I am glad I don't ever have to take the Blue Line past Logan Square ever any more.

We'll keep political angles out of this, of course, but the Sun-Times is reporting that Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) is proposing Wrigley Field's hand-operated scoreboard be replaced by a video scoreboard. IIRC, that scoreboard was installed by Bill Veeck in 1937.